


Begins Apocalypse

by bapplejack



Category: Kamen Rider W (Double), Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-16
Updated: 2013-09-15
Packaged: 2017-12-26 17:33:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/968560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bapplejack/pseuds/bapplejack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A KRW origin story fanfic set in the Pacific Rim universe. </p><p>Inspired by the Tumblr text post /your otp's cute, but are they drift compatible?/ OF COURSE THEY ARE.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An attempt to be hard-boiled.

 

**Chapter 1**

**Year 2020**

 

For the past few years of his life, Hidari Shotaro had been living inside the Tokyo shatterdome with his mentor. It wasn’t often he was able to leave it, yet alone visit another country. His boss was always so _strict_ and always treating him like a kid. He was a man now, damn it! In an act of rebellion--no, wait. Men didn’t rebel against their superiors. He wasn’t _rebelling_ , he was making a decision as a _man_ \--he decided to tail his teacher to the Hong Kong shatterdome where the colonel’s presence had been requested. He wouldn’t even tell Shotaro what it was _about_.

 

Upon arriving at the crowded and hustling and bustling gates of the world’s largest shatterdome, the young man let out an impressed whistle. The architecture was so _massive_. Back before the kaiju attacks, he would’ve never had the chance to see something like this. He kept his eyes open and his feet light as he snuck into the base with the rest of the crowd.

 

It was hard not to gape at his surroundings. Shotaro had managed to squirrel his way into the hangar bay where the Hong Kong based jaegers were idle and being prepared and readied in case there was another kaiju breach. He had never seen these ones up close before, and any time he looked up at the many stories high machines, he couldn’t help but crane his neck upwards to get a good look at them.

 

_One day, I’m going to pilot one of those._

 

He had been training heavily in their Kwoon Combat Room, on top of actually studying the mechanics of the jaegers and the drift system. He considered himself lucky that his boss would personally train and teach him occasionally. The older man was one of the best pilots the jaeger program had after all, and seeing him and his partner swiftly take down any kaiju that threatened their home was _inspiring_. When he stepped out of the jaeger, Shotaro would already be there and waiting for him like an eager kid, and it was always so _hard-boiled_ when his mentor clicked off his helmet, not even looking a little worn before he suavely placed his cherished fedora on.

 

...But at the same time having the stern man keep such a close eye on him meant he was going to be criticized for _everything_. And constantly reminded of how he was going to have to work harder to be able to drive a suit one day. _He wasn’t going to be able to qualify as a Ranger until he became a man. A man who would be strong enough to take on a kaiju head-to-head. You’re too soft, kid._

 

Shotaro sighed and made steps to exit the jaeger bay. _This’ll show Boss that I’m a man. I’m not a kid that needs to be told what to do._ He could make his own decisions now. He knew what he had to do. He smiled confidently, feeling better with each step he took.

 

He was going to show his commanding officer what he was capable of.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Man, the PacRim world is so expansive, it's hard to keep track of the timeline and all the different things that have happened! Another thing is that we never really find out in canon how old Shotaro is, but in this universe I decided to keep their age difference smaller. Shotaro is eighteen as of 2020, and Philip is sixteen. Hope you'll read the other chapters!


	2. First meetings.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shotaro meets Philip, and it goes about as well as one would expect it.

 

 

**Chapter 2**

 

“Shotaro, what’re you doing here?” He had found his mentor in one of the research labs, and unfortunately--it seemed as if his presence was not well-received.

 

The older man grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and dragged him off into the corner as soon as he saw him. The young man didn’t have a chance to gather his thoughts for a clever response, so instead craned his neck to the side to take a look at the scene behind his boss. There was a table set up with two seats on either side. On the side closest to them the chair was angled away from the table as the colonel had stepped up to grab Shotaro. On the other side was a teenage boy with bangs that brushed over his eyes that stared down at the table in confusion. One of his eyes was bloodshot, and he had crumpled, red stained tissues scattered in front of him.

 

“Boss, who’s that kid?” Shotaro asked, slightly offended. He had come all this way to see _him_? Why? What was the big secret?

 

“None of your business.” Sokichi responded gruffly. “Why are you here?”

 

“I’m here to help.” The young man straightened out and responded confidently.

 

“I don’t need a kid’s help.”

 

“I’m not a _kid._ I came all this way to prove myself, Boss!”

 

Sokichi looked Shotaro up and down with a skeptical eye. This kid was too much sometimes… “Stay with me. Don’t get out of my sights. You want to prove yourself? Then listen to me.” As soon as the last word was spoken, he turned back and headed towards the table. He didn’t want to give the young man a chance to talk back.

 

Sho frowned, doing his best to bite back the rush of bratty comebacks that were flooding his brain. He hefted the backpack on his shoulder with a sigh and headed to the table with his mentor. Setting down his bag on the table, he sat down in the chair that his mentor had pulled up for him and crossed his arms on his pack. With another sigh, he rested his face down. Sokichi ignored the pouty teenager, and instead placed his gaze on the younger, dazed one across from him.

 

“...Is any of it coming back to you, Philip?”

 

The roughed-up looking young man said nothing for a few moments. Sho dared a glance at him, and he couldn’t help but wonder _what was his deal_? Did he get into a fight with one of the rangers on base? Or maybe he was an engineer on base and he got hurt? He looked a little too scrawny to be a pilot…

 

Finally, the boy shook his head. “...All I can think of is… there’s something coming. We need to run. We need to _leave_. I know it may sound crazy, but I know it--there’s a kaiju attack on the way--”

 

Shotaro scoffed. “There’s no _way_ to know a kaiju is attacking until it’s coming through the breach--”

 

“It’s _coming_! If we don’t leave, then we’re going to die. We need to _get out--_ ”

 

“You don’t even know what you’re talking abou--” Sho was cut off when the old man held a hand out as a sign to _shut up_. The intensely pouty frown returned to his face, as he rested his head back on his arms with a grump.

 

“Why don’t we take a break, Philip?” Sokichi motioned for the two boys to get up and follow after him as he headed out the door.

 

The older man kept an efficient and quick pace that would’ve left his protege and the amnesiac several feet behind, but Sho quickened his own steps so he could get a few more words in with the colonel.

 

“Are you going to tell me what this is about, Boss?”

 

There was a moment of silence where the man didn’t look at him while he tried to figure if he really _did_ want to tell him. But the boy deserved to know what was going on. He was still a part of the PPDC.

 

And he’d either continuously pester him until he found out, or get in trouble doing detective work on his own.

 

“He stumbled onto the base not too long ago, going on about a kaiju attack that was coming. They took him in for questioning, but that’s all he talked about. He didn’t remember his name, or where he was from.”

 

Sho glanced back at the kid who was dragging his feet along behind them.

 

“Even more mysterious, the boy’s incredibly intelligent. When they took him to the medical bay, there was an equation on one of the boards they were working on to understand kaiju biology. He solved it instantly. If this was any other ordinary boy, he would just be taken to a hospital while they tried to find his family. I was requested to come in and handle the situation since all my superiors are busy handling other issues at the moment. Satisfied?”

 

The young man just nodded, silently _oh_ ing at the situation. “...Is he going to work for the PPDC, then?”

 

“Who knows. We need to see if we can find any information on him, first.”

 

The rest of the short walk was continued in silence, until they entered the cafeteria that was filled with workers eating and socializing. The younger boy seemed too daze to actually _pick_ his own food, so the older man took a tray and filled it for him. As he walked past him to seat himself at a table, he held it out for Philip.

 

“Eat.”

 

The trio sat down at a long table in silence. The colonel ate his food, the ranger-in-training _tried_ to eat, but was instead trying to discreetly _stare_ (and failing) at the other boy, and the mysterious amnesiac simply poked at his food.

 

“...Why don’t you believe me?” The quiet boy spoke up softly. The question had been running circles in his head, and he  _needed to know_. He couldn't remember anything. He couldn't remember his past. But there was one thing he knew for certainty--and that was that a kaiju was coming. He couldn't explain it, but he knew it  _for a fact_. And he  _needed someone to believe him._

 

“I believe you.” Sokichi answered simply as he continued to eat.

 

Philip (as well as Shotaro) looked up, surprised. “Then why are we still here?”

 

“There’s nowhere else to go.”

 

 _Was their situation that hopeless?_ The teenager continued to poke at his food, not bothering to respond.

 

The heavy silence at the table was interrupted when a shrill alarm started sounding, filling the cafeteria as well as the entire base with its noise. Everyone glanced up from whatever had been occupying their attention, suddenly alert and very aware of what was going on.

 

_Kaiju breach._

 

There was a moment while everyone hurried to their feet to get ready for combat where time seemed to slow for Shotaro and Philip. Sho tore his eyes away from the alarm and looked at Philip with wide eyes, and for a moment their gazes met.

 

_He was right._

 

Sokichi quickly stood up and ordered the men and women in the room to prepare for the jaeger launches. “--Call _Crystal Skull_ pilots for first deployment.”

 

Sho whipped around to look at the older man. “Boss! You’re going too?”

 

Sokichi said nothing as he glanced back at his young protege for only a moment, before he hurried to the hangar bay with everyone else.

 

_A ranger will never hesitate to go into combat if he or she needs to._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a little difficult to keep track of all the PacRim details since the world-building is so great, but in regards to Sokichi's rank I wanted to pick something that was /high/ but not Marshall-rank. Unfortunately we don't hear too much about PPDC ranks besides the few that are mentioned, so I just based it off our current military ranks.


	3. Taboo.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No matter how grim things get for a ranger, you keep fighting to protect the world.

 

 

**Chapter 3**

“Taboo. A category IV kaiju.” The J-tech officer announced as he read the breach graph.

_A category IV…?!_ The first had only appeared very recently, and it had heavily damaged the jaegers that had been deployed to destroy it. Shotaro watched the different screens in shock, only barely aware of the boy that had followed him to the LOCCENT control room.

“Crystal Skull initiating neural handshake.”

One of the screens displayed a visual of the pilots inside the jaeger currently being deployed, one of them being Colonel Narumi.

“Is he going out to _fight_ that thing?” Philip mumbled in terror and awe.

Grinding his teeth, Sho sharply responded to him. “Of course! If he doesn’t, lots of people are going to get hurt!”

The younger boy shook his head. “It’s too strong… We can’t fight it.”

“What are you suggesting? That we _run_?”

“Neural bridge is strong. Deploying jaeger.”

“He’ll die.” The young boy’s voice was shaking.

“A man can’t run when there are innocents he needs to protect, no matter how dangerous it is!” Sho stated finally before he turned his attention back to the screens.

_Is… is that really okay?_ Philip glanced around the room. Everyone else had a look of determination on their faces--especially the pilots being displayed. _Were they not scared? Was he just going in to die? **Were they just waiting here to die?**_

“Taboo quickly approaching Crystal Skull.”

“I see it--! To the right!” Sokichi’s co-pilot announced as the jaeger whipped to its side. A long kaiju with a large, antler-like growth shot out of the water and reached forward with its forearms to grab the jaeger. Its claws landed on the shoulders of the machine, while Skull reached forward to pull its arms off.

Alarms were sounding inside the conn-pod as the pressure of its grip deepened, but the pilots, with a combined effort, forced its arms off and threw it back into the ocean. They didn’t give the monster a moment of rest, as it sprinted forward to continue with its assault.

The creature was quick underwater though, as its body was designed for swift swimming, and it doubled back and circled around the machine. It came from behind and grabbed the jaeger’s legs, digging its claws into the joints and damaging the wiring. The robot lost its balance and fell backwards into the water. Its mobility was hindered while the machine was slowly sinking into the ocean.

The kaiju swam to the side, and quickly and continuously jabbed with its tail at the metal opponent, maximizing its flurry attack to do the most damage to the enemy.

“Armor breached. Skull taking heavy water damage, as well as damage from the kaiju.”

“Boss!” Shotaro couldn’t help but cry out. _This wasn’t going to be the end of Narumi Sokichi, damn it!_

With a heavy hand, the jaeger reached out and grabbed the kaiju’s head, keeping a tight grip on it as it struggled to stand up. Its other hand transformed into a gun barrel aimed straight at the monster. The weapon charged up, ready to fire.

_Skull Punisher._

Several rapid fire energy blasts shot out of the jaeger’s arm, but amidst the smoke and fire--the kaiju was charging up its own weapon. A large bright ball of energy focused in front of its head and as the last shot exited the jaeger’s barrel, so did Taboo unleash its weapon.

“No life readings from Taboo or Skull.”

_“Boss!”_

_\---_

A crew was immediately sent out to find the remains of the conn-pod. Shotaro ran out onto the helicopter pads with the rescue team, and waited anxiously as they came back.

Philip silently stood by his side. 

The pulse they were getting from the colonel was weak, and it was getting weaker by the moment. But still, they hurried him to the medical bay, and Shotaro was rushing right next to them.

“Boss--you’re going to be okay! You can’t die here!” The young man urged with a thick voice, even as his eyes burned.

The man was barely registering his surroundings, but he could pick out his protege’s face and voice, as well as the mysterious genius who was following after him.

“Shotaro… You have to protect the world. You have to watch over Philip. Do this for me, as a man.”

“I--I _can’t!_ You said I wasn’t ready yet! I’m not _ready_!”

Narumi Sokichi simply smiled, as his eyes closed and his heartbeat continued to slow until it was…

**_“Boss!!!”_ **

****

**_  
_**\---

Shotaro sat on the edge of the landing pad, with his feet dangling over the water. In his hands, he had his beloved mentor’s favorite white hat, and he clutched it tightly against his chest. His eyes and nose were red, and his tears dripped against his hands and clothes and even stained the treasured hat.

He said nothing when he heard quiet steps behind him.

“...When he said there was nowhere else to go, I thought he meant he was going in to die. I thought he meant there was no hope. I realize now, he had nowhere else to go because this was where hope was. Where the world’s hope is, and he had to carry that out, even if it meant he was going to die. Because in the end, he saved so many lives.”

Philip sat down next to Shotaro.

“Is that what you’re going to do, Shotaro? Are you going to carry out the world’s hope?”

Hidari Shotaro blinked the tears out of his eyes, and looked down at the hat he held in his hands.

“Yeah. I’m going to protect the ones who can’t protect themselves.”

 


	4. Two years later: 2022.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been two years since his mentor's death, and Shotaro's in a rut.

 

**Chapter 4**

**2 years later**

 

Things hadn’t gone exactly the way Shotaro would’ve wanted.

 

Soon after Narumi Sokichi passed away, he had been considered combat ready. The problem was none of his drift compatibility tests ended well. He’d either have a hard time finding someone that _connected_ with him in the Kwoon, or the actual neural handshake tests inside the conn-pod ended badly. There were times where he wouldn’t properly connect with his co-pilot during the neural handshake, other times they’d fall out of alignment.

 

_“Maybe it’s you.” The younger boy was laying on the bottom bunk, his eyes quickly scanning through the pages of the science textbook._

 

_“It’s not me.” Shotaro mumbled from the top bunk, a fedora covering his face. Whenever one of the tests ended badly, he’d retire to his room and lay in bed, in an attempt to sulk in private. ...Or at least, mostly private besides his occasionally annoying (like now) roommate._

 

_“What about last time?” Philip flipped to the next page._

 

_The last drift test had ended in a successful neural handshake… except he’d latched onto a memory of **that day** and chased the RABIT and it forced him out of the drift. He didn’t know what it was--he knew that in order to have success in forming a strong neural connection, he needed to trust his co-pilot. But… he didn’t. There was just something about every one of them that didn’t sit right with him._

 

**_What was it?_ **

 

_“That was one time.”_

 

_“But you haven’t found a co-pilot.”_

 

_“I will.”_

 

He still hadn’t. And as time passed by, the kaiju became stronger and it felt like there wasn’t going to be an end to this war. There had even been talks about the Jaeger program losing funding. They wanted to find an alternate program, and one of the more popular alternatives was the _Wall of Life_ program.

 

That didn’t sit well with Shotaro either. He had a bad feeling about it.

 

He rolled over in his bed as the alarm under his pillow went off. Groggily, he rubbed his eyes and hopped off the bed, glancing back briefly to see if he was alone. The bottom bunk--the one that used to be his--was empty. The sheets were tucked in, and it looked like it hadn’t been touched since yesterday.

 

 _Of course not._ Shotaro thought, somewhat amused, as he reached for his PPDC t-shirt.

 

_“Philip! Have you not slept at all?” Shotaro had finally found him in one of the smaller research labs in the shatterdome. When he woke up, the younger boy hadn’t been in their room and he’d wondered if something happened or if he’d gotten lost._

 

_The other boy didn’t respond. His eyes continued to go back and forth from the book to whiteboard and he mumbled quickly to himself._

 

_“Philip?” He stepped closer to him, and put a hand on his shoulder._

 

_“Oh. Shotaro. I didn’t notice you were there.” He didn’t look away from his current occupation._

 

_The older boy frowned. “Have you been here all night?”_

 

_“Is it morning already?” His marker squeaked along the surface as he wrote._

 

_Shotaro opened his mouth, but was speechless. Was he **that** involved with what he was reading?_

 

He tried to drag Philip out of that _habit_ , but in that regard, he was more stubborn than Shotaro. There was even that time he had a cold and he was still reading in the lab, before the older boy literally rolled his chair back to their room and shoved him back into bed.

 

So if he couldn’t discourage him from it, he suppose he would have to _encourage_ him. Besides, Philip was one of the brightest minds they had on base. He did a little bit of everything in the Tokyo shatterdome, from jaeger research to kaiju research. On any given day, he had several projects going on at once, along with whatever _hobby_ reading he had. One of his longer-term projects was an ambitious weapon swap system for jaegers to maximize utility.

 

Shotaro lightly pushed open the research room’s door. In his hand was a tray with breakfast foods and two cups of coffee. He walked beside the table Philip was sitting at, and set down the tray, grabbing a mug for himself and sitting off to the side. He said nothing and watched the younger man read and write and mumble to himself silently. It didn’t matter if he spoke up or not, he would notice Shotaro on his own time. That was something the older man learned a long time ago.

 

Philip reflexively reached for the cup and sipped out of it carefully as he continued his work. It wasn’t until several moments later did he realize he had company, and looked up in Shotaro’s direction. “Good morning.”

 

“Interesting read?” He asked lightly with a small smirk.

 

“Cake.”

 

“Oh?” Shotaro wasn’t really surprised anymore. Philip read anything and everything, and he was honestly surprised he hadn’t stumbled upon this topic sooner.

 

“Boston cream pies aren’t actually pies. And they have a history that goes back as far as 1856, but…” Philip rambled on about the cake in particular, and continued informing his roommate about the many, many other cake types he’d read about. Sho half-listened more for Philip’s benefit than his own, and nodded occasionally and sipped out of his cup. He retained some of the facts that were shared, but he didn’t understand how the younger man did it. How did he keep all of this information in his head?

 

He really was a genius.

 

In the middle of Philip’s _lecture_ , the door opened, and a middle aged man was standing at the entrance.

 

“I figured if Shotaro wasn’t at the Kwoon helping the trainees, I’d find you two here instead.”

 

“Oh. Jin. Good morning.” Shotaro glanced over to the J-tech senior officer while sipping on his cup of coffee. “Did you need me for something?” It wasn’t often that he looked for him as opposed to Philip.

 

“Yeah. Can you come with me for a few moments?” He tapped his back lightly with the back scratcher over his shoulder.

 

\---

 

“What’s up, Jin?” The two were walking through the empty hallways of the shatterdome.

 

“You’ve heard about the Anti-Kaiju wall, right?” The older man stopped and looked over at Shotaro.

 

“Of course. The Jaeger program isn’t working as well as we’d hoped, so they’re looking for alternative plans.”

 

_“It isn’t going to work.” The young man stated bluntly. “The kaiju are getting stronger as time passes. A wall that we build now isn’t going to hold, if at all. You can rebuild and engineer Jaegers with less effort. It’s pointless.” Philip stated finally._

 

_“Yeah… I don’t really have a good feeling about it, either.”_

 

“It isn’t happening yet, but they’re definitely looking towards it.” Jinno informed. “They’re starting to cut funding for the shatterdomes.”

 

“What!? But we need them now more than ever!” The kaiju weren’t going to stop attacking--what made them think that a _wall_ was going to be what would protect everyone? It just felt so… _cowardly_.

 

Jin sighed. “Our chief has stepped down, and they’re taking away one of our jaeger crews. They’re cutting all divisions of workers in the shatterdomes…” He met Shotaro’s eyes with a somber look.

 

His brow furrowed. _What is he trying to get at?_

 

Jin shook his head. “We don’t need more rangers. And if we don’t need more rangers, then we don’t need someone to train them.”

 

The realization stunned Shotaro into silence.

 

“It’d be different if you were a ranger, but… I’m sorry.” He offered a sympathetic look to the young man. He was a good kid, and he didn’t deserve this.

  
He merely nodded, not completely recovered from the shock. “...I got it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH NOOOOO, SHOOOO.
> 
> So I figure in canon, the reason Sho's so obsessed with dressing in dress shirts is because of Sokichi's influence. But in PacRim 'verse, Sokichi probably wore military uniforms, along with more-formal-detective-noir clothes. So I thought that Sho would wear PPDC clothes, as well as occasionally dressing up in the way we all know and love him in.


	5. Not ready.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neither one wants this to happen.

**Chapter 5**

 

Shotaro felt like a failure.

 

 _He had promised his boss he would protect everyone. He would protect Philip._ But now he wasn’t needed--and he wasn’t allowed to stay around. He couldn’t stay with the younger boy. _He_ was actually useful.

 

He gritted his teeth in frustration and shoved his clothes into the bag. _How am I supposed to protect the world if I can’t even watch over one person?_

 

Shotaro sighed and sat down defeatedly at the edge of the bottom bed. He looked around the room--his home for the past several years. First with Boss, then with Philip.

 

Nothing changed in the room. After the colonel died, Shotaro didn’t touch anything. He felt like moving anything would be disrespectful to his superior. He felt like he didn’t _deserve_ to change anything.

 

He laid down on the bed. “I’m sorry, Boss. I couldn’t be the man you wanted me to be.”

 

\---

 

There was something nagging the back of Philip’s brain while he read. Was there a meeting he was supposed to attend? Did Shotaro have a drift compatibility test? What _time_ was it?

 

Peeling his eyes from the book he was reading, he glanced around the room.

 

...Wait, where _was_ Shotaro? He would usually be back by now... _Did_ he have a test?

 

\---

 

When Shotaro heard steps approaching the room, he quickly sat up and rubbed his eyes. He didn’t want anyone happen to walk by and see him in such a pathetic state. Clearing his throat, he kept his face straight while he waited for whoever it was to walk by. But to his surprise…

 

“Philip?” He blinked. The younger man stepped into the room with a book in his hand.

 

“Oh. Shotaro. You’re here.” Philip looked up from the book he had been reading on the way to their room. “You were gone longer than usual, so I was wondering…” His sentence trailed as his eyes fell on the packed bag. “...Is the PPDC sending you on an away mission?”

 

Ah… Shotaro’s eyes strayed to the ground. How was he going to tell Philip? He had made a promise to the boss to watch over him. And now he had no choice but to leave…

 

But how could he tell _Philip that_?

 

“Where are they sending you?” A very slight, urging tone snuck its way into the younger man’s voice.

 

“Nowhere.” Shotaro picked up the bag and slung it over his shoulder. “They’re cutting funding in favor of the Anti-Kaiju wall. There’s nothing I do besides train ranger candidates, and they’re not looking for anymore rangers. So… I have to leave.” He looked up and met the other man’s stunned eyes briefly, before continuing on the way out.

 

“...I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise, Philip.”

 

\---

 

Shotaro could feel the burning in his eyes while he waited for the next helicopter off the shatterdome. His hand was tightly gripping the backpack strap, and his knuckles were white.

 

\---

 

Philip sat in the room in silence. He wasn’t reading, writing, or thinking. He wasn’t sure what to do next. It had been a long time since he’d just sat in the room and looked at it. The other time was when he first came onto the base. Narumi Sokichi’s hats hung on the wall just as they did two years ago. But…

 

_Did Shotaro not bring a hat?_

 

He didn’t have long to dwell, as the kaiju siren started to sound.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, and I hope you all are enjoying it so far!


	6. Falling together.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All along, they knew they were drift compatible.

 

 

**Chapter 6**

 

“Magma. Category IV kaiju.”

 

“Are both crews sent out, Makura?” Jin stood in the center of the room. For the time being, until the new chief of the Tokyo shatterdome was sent in, he would be in charge.

 

“Yessir.”

 

They only had two jaeger crews left after their third was decommissioned due to lack of funding. The two machines were dropped into the ocean to combat the monster. It had six, thick legs that were broken up into segments and each break was glowing a deep blue. Its head was chiseled like the edge of a mountain and it had small, angry looking oval eyes. It left a trail of steam behind it as it stepped through the ocean.

 

The first jaeger caught it from behind and held onto its tail, while the second threw out a barrage of punches into the creature’s thick body. Letting out a furious roar, Magma bit forward, and caught its arm in its maw. After a few moments of pressure, the machine started to smoke and melt as the conn-pod sounded warnings of the damage. The kaiju melted the jaeger’s arm, and the rest of its limb dropped into the ocean with a huge splash.

 

The kaiju lunged forward to advance its assault and when its large, searing hot paws landed on the metal for even a few moments of contact, it started to melt through the body of the robot.

 

The jaeger from the back gripped its tail tightly and yanked it backwards, shoving it back into the water.

 

There was a pause in the combat as the crews tried to locate the monster.

 

Suddenly, the creature surged from under the ocean with its mouth open and teeth bared. With its six arms, it latched onto the first jaeger and reared back its jaws and snapped forward quickly, the head of the jaeger crunching and burning and melting inside.

 

“One crew down!”

 

Philip watched the screens from LOCCENT control with eyes wide. _They weren’t going to stop it in time.If they had another crew, they needed to send them now. But…_

 

Heavy, fast steps bursted through the room. “Send me in!”

 

The young man looked back, surprised to see who it was. _Shotaro?_

 

“I can’t, Shotaro. You have no co-pilot.” Jinno straightened up to face the ranger.

 

“Then send me in by myself!” He urged, his fists clenched. From a distance, he had seen parts of the fight while he waited on the dock, before they had herded everyone into the safety of the shatterdome. But from what he saw, he _knew._

 

_He knew they weren’t going to make it._

 

Makura whipped back to snap at him--“You’ll die for sure if you do that!”

 

“If someone doesn’t go _now_ then civilians will _die!_ ”

 

“You have no _co-pilot_ , you idi--” Before the antagonistic J-tech officer could finish his sentence, he was interrupted.

 

“I’ll co-pilot.”

 

 _Philip?_ Shotaro looked over to his side, mentally scrambling for words. “Y-you can’t.”

 

_You’re not trained._

_We’re not going to be drift compatible._

_Boss told me to protect you._

_If you get hurt it’ll be **my fault.**_

 

“The only jaeger we have in the hangar is the one I’ve been working on. I know the machinery the best. Who else can you drift with, Shotaro? I am the most logical choice.”

 

The man was speechless. He didn’t have a retort, but still he couldn’t _let him_ \--

 

“Are you going half-boiled on me when people are about to die?”

 

Shotaro gritted his teeth.   _He wasn’t half-boiled, damn it!_ But... His eyes squeezed shut as he tried to push away all his anxiety and indecision. _He couldn’t let people die. But he couldn’t let Philip get hurt…_ Shaking his head, he opened his eyes again and saw that the other man was looking at him with eyes that read different emotions. _Urgency. Determination._

 

_A ranger isn’t afraid to protect those at his own risk._

 

His eyes looked like Boss’s. The realization stopped Sho’s breath for a moment as his eyes went wide.

 

Philip held out a hand towards the older man. “Are you ready to fall into the drift with me?”

 

He looked down at the hand and back up to meet the younger man’s eyes. He was done hesitating. He was done being afraid. In one quick movement, he casted off his indecision and firmly grasped Philip’s hand. “Of course! I’ll protect this world with everything I have.”

 

The young man quirked a slight smile. “Let’s go.”

 

\---

 

They quickly suited up and locked themselves into the conn-pod of the jaeger, Shotaro in charge of the left hemisphere, and Philip on the right. The lock-in system was slightly different for their jaeger. The young engineer wanted to create a jaeger with maximum utility and movement. As such, it was the back of the pilots, and not the feet that were bound.

 

“Remember, you two. The drift is silence. Don’t chase the RABIT. We don’t have any room for mistakes.” Jin urged them through the communications.

 

“Cyclone Joker initiating neural handshake in, 3… 2… 1…”

 

The two plunged into the depths of each other’s minds with a sharp breath.

 

_playing on the streets darkness sleeping in class darkness falling out of a tree a sharp light trespasser attacking america on the news the urgency that a kaiju was coming caught stealing from a ppdc officer squeaking on a whiteboard boss with his eyes closed shotaro on the docks not being able to sleep philip where are y--_

 

It felt like holding your breath too long in ice water. When they exited the drift, it was as if they were coming out and sharp breaths of air filled their lungs.

 

“Neural bridge holding strong. Cyclone Joker, ready to be deployed.”

 

_Ready, partner?_

_Of course, Shotaro._

_\---_

 

“Magma fast approaching the Miracle Mile!”

 

The jaeger dropped a little less than a kilometer from the monster. Huge waves splashed onto the kaiju. The water that came into contact with the kaiju created a sizzle that drifted through the air.

 

The beast let out a roar and rushed towards the machine. It caught Magma mid-rush, stopping the monster’s attack with their grip.

 

_We can’t maintain long instances of contact, or we’ll melt._

_Got it!_

 

The two pulled their hands away, and Shotaro quickly shook off the sensation of the burning heat in his hands before he stepped forward for their own assault.

 

He put all his strength into each punch, taking a step towards the kaiju with each hit. It made a satisfying _whack_ each time the jaeger’s fists pummeled into the beast’s body. With the enemy’s senses beaten out of it, they delivered a swift roundhouse kick to its head, and knocked it back into the ocean.

 

_We need to finish this no--_

 

But before they could gather their senses for one last finishing blow, the kaiju grabbed the jaeger’s right leg tightly. Philip let out a cry at the crushing, burning sensation.

 

“Philip!” _Get your hands off my partner, you bastard!_ Shotaro reached down with his left hand and grabbed the kaiju’s head with all his might, putting all of his crushing strength into the jaeger’s. He didn’t care that it felt like his hand was going to melt right off, he would protect the precious partner that his boss left to him.

 

As he peeled the monster off their machine, Philip quickly reached over and punched a string of commands onto the touch screen. With each second that passed, he could feel his body getting heavier from the stress of the piloting and the drift.

 

The armor on the right arm and leg popped open and fast whipping winds started cutting the water and the air around them.

 

Recognizing that Philip was initiating the command to end the fight, Sho let go of the beast and punched it with the wind-infused fist. Magma stumbled back once more, unable to recover from the assault. _“Time to finish this!”_

 

The jaeger was built with thruster units in the feet that propelled the machine into the air--but only for a brief moment. With the monster still dazed, the two took advantage of the moment to deliver the finishing blow.

 

_Joker Extreme!_

 

The left leg stretched forward and delivered the first dropkick, and immediately after the right leg made heavy contact with Magma, the cutting air slicing into its hide. With one final roar, the beast fell backwards into the water, lifeless.

 

_We did it--_

 

Before Shotaro could finish his thought, he felt a heaviness on his right side. He grunted at the suddenness of the seizure, and turned his head over to his partner, his left hand cradling his right side.. “Philip...?”

 

“Right hemisphere out of sync!” The J-tech officer announcement sounded into the conn-pod.

 

At the realization of what happened, the older man could feel each beat of his heart thumping heavily and painfully in his chest. “Philip! _Philip!_ ”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not the best artist, so I only did a very simple ~shape~ sketch of what I imagined the Cyclone Joker jaeger to look like. http://i.imgur.com/0vDfko1.jpg 
> 
> I tried to base it off a grasshopper, and less like a /Kamen Rider/, which is why the legs are bent like that. Also, the detail on the left leg wasn't reflected on the right leg more because I was lazy as opposed to it being asymmetrical. 
> 
> THE JAEGER DRAWINGS ARE SO DETAILED. This is basically a jaeger stick figure, ahaha.


	7. Partners.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> /We're partners now./ Sho would keep his promise to the boss. Both of them.

 

**Chapter 7**

 

They had sent a crew of helicopters to airlift the jaeger out of the ocean, and another to pick up the pilots separately. As soon as he was sure the aircrafts had a steady hold on the machine and it wouldn’t tumble into the water, he quickly detached himself and threw off his helmet as he did the same for Philip and supported his partner’s heavy, limp body.

 

The med crew came in and carted off the young man into the helicopter, as Shotaro watched and followed after helplessly.

 

In the logical part of his mind, he knew that Philip was probably just tired. It was the first time he’d ever drifted, and the first time he’d fought a kaiju. He had only ever used the simulator a few times out of curiosity more than anything. The same with combat training in the Kwoon.

 

But at the same time… Even though they shared the neural load, what if it was too much? What if Philip was hurt? Because _he_ wasn’t able to drift with anyone else, because he couldn’t trust anyone else, because it _had to be him._ Because somewhere along the way, Philip must’ve realized that, and that’s why…

 

_If you die, it’ll be my fault. Please, don’t die…_

_\---_

 

Upon arriving back at the shatterdome, they rushed him to the medbay and examined Philip in more depth. Shotaro waited anxiously outside, not even bothering to take off his pilot suit yet. It wasn’t too long before the doctor stepped out and--much to his relief--informed him that he had collapsed from exhaustion. There was no long-term damage. He would just have to rest.

 

Despite that, after changing into something more _comfortable_ , he returned to his partner’s bedside. He pulled up a chair and let out a long sigh. His eyes moved towards Philip’s face.

 

 _He looks so peaceful…_ Sho smiled. _This is probably the only way I can get him into bed, anyway. Rest easy, partner._

_\---_

 

 _Ugh… My back hurts._ Shotaro blinked his eyes at the brightly lit room as he sat up. Had he fallen asleep in the middle of the night? He had been pretty tired too… Rubbing his eyes, he stretched out his arms and yawned loudly.

 

“How did you sleep?”

 

“Eh?” Sho blinked and looked towards the voice. Philip was sitting up in the bed, his eyes trained on the book in front of him. “Hey--You’re supposed to be resting!” The older man scowled, and pushed the book down.

 

“I am resting. I’m still in bed.” The younger man looked up at Shotaro.

 

“You’re reading! That’s _work_!”

 

“You’re being too loud.” Philip pulled the book closer to him and continued to read.

 

“You’re such a pain…” The older man sighed, exasperated. “Do you feel better, at least?”

 

“I’m fine. My body’s not used to the physical stress that pilots are put under. I’ll have to spend more time in the Kwoon.”

 

“...Huh?”

 

“I’ll be prepared the next time a kaiju comes through the breach.”

 

“Next time!?”

 

“Of course. You can’t pilot Cyclone Joker alone.” The young man turned to the next page in his book.

 

“But… you…” _It’s dangerous. You’ll get hurt._  His resolve wavered slightly after he saw Philip's unconscious body. After he _spent the whole day worrying about him._  “...Aren’t you going to be busy?”

 

“I’ll be fine.” Philip paused from his book reading and looked up at Shotaro. “When we drift together, I know all your thoughts. I know why you’re saying these things. You don’t have to worry about me, Shotaro. If you don’t become a ranger, you’ll be dismissed. Isn’t this what you wanted?”

 

“...If you get hurt, it’s my fault.” He clenched his fists tightly.

 

“You made two promises that day, remember?” Philip smiled knowingly. With the logical decision right in front of him, of course Shotaro would hesitate because of sentiment. That was what made him so interesting.

 

_Philip’s right. Boss wouldn’t want me to choose one over the other. If he were in my situation, he’d keep both those promises. I can’t hesitate now--there’s no one else to protect the Tokyo coastline. I’ll protect the world, and my partner!_

 

Shotaro nodded, now filled with a new resolve. “We’re going to protect the world, Philip.” He held out his hand.  

 

Philip chuckled softly before grasping it.

 

“Of course. We’re partners now.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading this far! I hope you enjoyed it! I had a few ideas for this universe, but combining a noir/detective setting with a sci-fi/action setting is a little more difficult than I thought it'd be, ahaha. But I really enjoyed writing it. Maybe I'll do some one-shots later!


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